Smackover baseball coach Josh Wesson described senior Bailey Rivers as “hands-on” both as a player and a student. It’s a fitting description for the Buckaroos’ centerfielder and lead-off hitter, who graduated fourth in his class with a 4.04 grade point average.
“He was just a great leader on and off the field. If I could have a program full of Bailey Rivers’ my team would be pretty special every year,” said Wesson. “He does all the right things in the classroom. He’s a great leader in practice. He coaches up the younger guys really well. He’s definitely going to be missed. He was a very critical part of our program and the success we had this year. We’re going to miss him. He was a leader.”
Rivers plans to attend the University of Arkansas and major in mechanical engineering. He said his career goals include a desire to “design new things to help the world be more efficient.
“I have been interested in mechanical engineering since around sophomore year when we had to find something to be. We had to take a test to see what would suit us best and that was it for me.”
Mechanical engineering isn’t a course of study an average jock might select. Rivers was never the average jock at Smackover.
“Not surprised at all. I figured he’d do something in the engineering field,” said Wesson. “He’s a very intelligent young man. He wants to be a hands on kind of guy but at the same time he has the brains to press all the right buttons and figure out stuff that’s way above my head. Not surprised at all that he’s going into the engineering field. I’m just real proud of him. I know he’s going to have a bright future.”
Rivers showed he was willing to work for success in baseball. He didn’t play much as a sophomore and the pandemic wiped away his junior year. As a senior, he led the Bucks in home runs and was an important piece to their puzzle.
“I didn’t play much until junior year,” he said. “This year I did a lot better as a hitter I took the time off to fix a major problem in my swing. I was confident in myself most of the time as lead off.
“This was my best season. I wanted badly to make this year the best I have ever had since it would be my last.”
When it came to working around the pandemic in the classroom, Rivers said it wasn’t a huge deal.
“I went virtual one time and it wasn’t that bad,” he said. “I made sure my work was turned in and the teachers did their job. I spent less time on school when I was virtual and did things at home.”
Wesson also described Rivers as pretty quiet but, “he definitely knows how to have a good time when he’s around all the guys.”
Mechanical engineers design, develop, build and test. It’s a hands-on occupation that requires patience and persistence.
It could be right up Rivers’ alley.
“He’s one of those kids that, he’s never caught before but if I told him, ‘Hey Bailey, I need you to put the gear on and go behind the plate.’ He wouldn’t second guess it,” said Wesson. “He’s all about the team. He would do whatever is best for the team.”